Vacuum metallized electrode



United States Patent Office 3,410,785

Patented Nov. 12, 1968 Example 1 3,410,785

VACUUM MET ALLIZED ELECTRODE A series of and /z-mch dlameter titanium rods were Philip J.'Clough, Reading, and Robert W. Steeves, Nahant, mounted on a Totatlng j in a Vacuum chamber- A150 Mass., assignors to National Research Corporation, mounted in the chamber were a water cooled copper Cambridge, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts 5 crucible containing platinum and an electron beam heat N0 Drawlng- Flled Allg- 1965, 482,300 source. The power input to the electron beam gun was 2 Claims (CL 204.290) held at 6 to 8 kilowatts (about 17 kilovolts) for all runs and the vacuum level in the chamber was held at the high 10* torr range and better (i.e., lower pressures). The

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE 10 platinum source ran at about 2300 C. throughout. The Titanium electrode, for electrochemical systems, with coating thickness was varied by source to substrate disvacuum deposited coat of platinum affording high resisttance and by time of exposure of the substrate to the ance to flaking upon reversal of electric current in the platinum vapors produced by electron beam heating of the electrochemical system. source. For instance, coating at 6 to 7 kilowatts for 30 minutes changed the rod diameters from (on a sample basis) .5111 inch to .5138 inch, i.e.a .00135 inch coat- The present invention relates to refractory metal elecing thickness. A 2 minutes coating run changed the diamtrodes used in electrochemical processes such as nickel eters from .5106 inch to .5115 inch, i.e.a .00045 thickplating, electropolishing, chlorination baths and the like. ness. Another two minutes run produced a .0005 coating One common form of electrode is a titanium rod with an thickness. This was the lower limit of micrometer measoxidation preventing coating of a noble metal, e.g., platiurements. Further runs were made to produce coatings less num, the platinum is itself applied to the electrode by than .000 inch, as determined by visual observation and electroplating. There is an extensive body of prior art chemical analysis. built around this field. For instance, US. Patent 2,719,797 The various samples were evaluated by using each as shows a platinum coated electrode of tantalum or coa cathode in a sodium hydroxide bath (12 ounces per lumbium. Platinum coated titanium electrodes are degallon) at a temperature of 180 F. with the other elecscribed in U.S. Patents 3,096,272; 3,103,484 and trode being a nickel sheet. A series of cycles were con- 3,055,811 ducted. In each cycle, the platinum coated titanium held A significant problem is entailed in the use of these as a cathode for one minute and the current then reversed prior art electrodes in electrochemical processes where the so that the platinum coated titanium was held as an anode electrode is normally reversed in polarity after each cycle for about 15 seconds. of usage for cleansing the electrode itself and/or the Currents of 150 amperes per square foot, 300 amperes coated part of deposits which accumulate during the cycle. per square foot and, briefly, 3,000 amperes per square foot The noble metal coating tends to flake off and expose the were run through the bath (square footage based on elecunderlying refractory metal substrate. This reduces the trode surface in the bath). The results of this testing are power efficiency and breakdown voltage of the electrode shown in Table 1 below. In addition to the above samples, since the exposed portions are rapidly oxidized. Also the the tests included several samples which were heat treated anode is soon passivated after flaking starts. (post-heat-treatment) in vacuum at 800 C. after coating We have found a new form of electrode which avoids in order to improve the adherence of the coating.

TABLE 1 Post Heat Observed Electrolytic Coating Thickness Treatment Adherence Test Current, Results (amps/sq. ft.)

150 No passivation in 10 cycles. 300 Passivated in 10 cycles. 150 Flaked quickly. 150 No passivation after 15 cycles; discolored (grey to dark brown). 150 No passivation after 44 cycles. 3 3,000 No passivation; sample maintained same voltage/current characteristics.

150 N0 passivation after 44 cycles.

1 As indicated by scraping the coating with a knife. 2 In vacuum (about hr.) 3 For 2 cycles; then 300.

the prior art problem of flaking and provides a substan- Thus, the samples having less than .0001 inch platinum tial improvement in the efficiency and cost of electrocoating thickness (average about .00005 inch) provided chemical processes using our electrodes. Our new elechigh resistance to flaking, even at current intensity of 3000 trode consists, in a preferred embodiment, of a titanium amperes per square foot. They demonstrate this charactersubstrate with a vacuum deposited coating of a noble istic even without a post coating heat treatment. A heat metal in a thickness of less than .0001 inch. The vacuum treatment is optional. deposited metal coating is characterized by uniformity of Heat treated samples of greater than .0001 inch, while thickness, freedom from internal stresses, and the relanot as good as the thinner coated samples, are improved tive absence of interdiffusion with the substrate, as comcompared to prior art products. The benefit of the heat pared with the coatings of prior art electrodes. The coattreatment is that stresses are relieved in these thicker coatings, when sufficiently thick to observe crystal structure, ings, although the temperature and time of heat treatment are also characterized by columnar or equiaxed, nonare sufiiciently low that very little diffusion occurs. In the porous crystal structure. The experiment described below thinner coatings, the coatings are stress free, as deposited. and field tests have demonstrated the improved perform- The electrodes should be cleaned before vacuum coating ance of our electrodes compared with prior art electrodes. to remove oxide. But thorough cleaning is not necessary.

It is known that an oxide layer a few angstroms thick is conductive and we have found that the vacuum coatings 1 When the electrodes are produced without heat treatment adh r w ll to th b trat even thou h some oxid r as described below, the structure is columnar. When produced with a heat treatment, the structure is equiaxed. mams- In preparing the above samples, the precleaning consisted of vapor honing the substrate and then cleaning it with alcohol. We used a wet fine abrasive (300 grit alundum suspended in water along with a rust inhibiting agent) and sprayed with air pressure of 7090 p.s.i. The subsequent washing was done in isopropyl alcohol.

The invention may also be applied to other refractory metal such as tungsten, tantalum and columbium substrates. The substrate may also include a base metal with a thick surface layer of the refractory metal. The substrates may be of a variety of forms-such as rod, sheet, expanded metal mesh. The noble metal coating may be gold or any of the platinum group metalsi.e., platinum, rhodium, osmium, iridium, ruthenium, palladium and their alloys.

A unique advantage of our improved electrodes is that the coating is so adherent that even if a small area is exposed the adjacent coated areas will not be undercut by corrosion as in prior art coated electrodes. Thus small areas can be left uncoated without disastrous corrosion and without great loss of efficiency. For instance, if a square foot of coated electrode surface is exposed to the electrolyte, exposure of one square inch of uncoated surface in that area would only decrease the efficiency of the electrode by about of 1%. This provides an important capability since accidental exposure or stripping of small areas of an electrode is accommodated. More significant, however, is the point that this capability allows the de liberate use of uncoated areas on the electrode surface. For instance, the manufacturing process might provide for the use of clamps in holding the electrode while coating it with noble metal. In the prior art, it was necessary to (a) keep the area Which was under the clamp out of the electrolyte in subsequent usage, (b) use no clamps in manufacturing or (c) overcoat the area which was under the clamp. With our improved product, these constraints are avoided. Another Way in which our product affords manufacturing economics is that long rods or large sheets can be vacuum coated and then cut into small electrodes. The exposed ends or edges are uncoated and will rapidly passivate in use. But this is tolerable because oxidation will be confined to these exposed ends or edges.

What is claimed is:

1. An improved electrode, for use in electrochemical processes or systems requiring polarity reversals, comprising a refractory metal substrate with a noble metal coat adhering thereto formed by vacuum depoistion and having chaarcteristic structure of vacuum deposition, a thickness of less than .0001 inch, high degree of uniformity of said coating thickness, essential freedom from internal stress of the as-deposited coating, and essential freedom from diffusion or alloying at the substrate/coating interface whereby the coating adherence is so high that it resists flaking upon exposure to polarity reversal currents of 3000 amperes per square foot in a caustic electrolytic bath and so that it avoids propagation of flaking around bare spots on the electrode which are exposed to the electrolytic bath.

2. The electrode of claim 1 wherein the substrate is titanium and the coating is platinum.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,076,754 2/1963 Evans. 3,117,023 1/1964 Tirrell 1l7227 3,318,792 5/1967 Cotton et al.

FOREIGN PATENTS 877,901 9/1961 Great Britain. 896,963 5/1962 Great Britain.

OTHER REFERENCES Platinum Metals Review, vol. 2, No. 2, April 1958, pp. -47.

HOWARD S. WILLIAMS, Primary Examiner.

D. R. JORDAN, Assistant Examiner. 

